Tag: naxal-affected areas

Voting Underway in Madhya Pradesh as BJP, Congress Fight for Supremacy

The BJP is eyeing a fourth straight term in office, while the Congress is hoping for a comeback in the state which was once its stronghold.

Bhopal: Polling began on Wednesday morning to elect a 230-member assembly in Madhya Pradesh, where the ruling BJP and opposition Congress are fighting for supremacy.

Polling is being held between 8 am and 5 pm for 227 seats. In three assembly segments – Lanji, Paraswada and Baihar – in the Naxal-affected Balaghat district, the voting time is between 7 am to 3 pm.

The BJP is eyeing a fourth straight term in office, while the Congress is hoping for a comeback in the state which was once its stronghold.

The battle of ballots in Madhya Pradesh is just months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls slated in the first half of 2019.

As many as 2,899 candidates, including 1,094 independents, are in the fray for the 230 seats, but the main contest is between the Congress and BJP.

The state has 5.04 crore eligible voters.

Also Read: As MP Goes to Polls, Rural Distress, Regional Dynamics to Decide Who Takes the Helm

State chief electoral officer (CEO) V.L. Kantha Rao said Tuesday that 3,00,782 government employees, including 45,904 women, have been deployed on poll duty across the state, where 65,341 polling stations have been set up.

The CEO said 17,000 of these polling booths have been declared ‘sensitive’ and additional vigil will be maintained there.

As many as 1.80 lakh security personnel, including those drawn from central paramilitary forces, have been deployed to ensure free and fair poll, Rao said.

“Special measures have been taken for sensitive booths. Webcasting will be held from 6,500 polling stations, while videography will be carried out at 4,600 booths,” he said.

Rao said 78,870 EVMs will be used during the poll.

Among the 2,899 candidates, 250 are women and five are transgender persons, the CEO said.

Naxal Attack in Poll-Bound Chhattisgarh Kills One Jawan, Four Civilians

The blast comes just four days before the first phase of elections in the state, while PM Narendra Modi is expected to address an election rally on Friday about 100 km away from the blast site.

New Delhi: With the first phase of elections in Chhattisgarh story just days away, a Naxalite attack on Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) vehicle killed five people, including a jawan. The Naxals had triggered an IED (improvised explosive device) on a bus near Bacheli in Dantewada district, according to NDTV.

The blast also injured two CISF personnel, Dantewada superintendent of police Abhishek Pallava said. Among the civilians killed in the blast are driver of the bus, conductor and cleaner.

Also Read: In Dantewada’s Naxal Area, ‘Political Participation’ Looks Completely Different

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address an election rally in Jagalpur, which is about 100 km from where the blast occurred, on Friday.

The explosion took place in a hilly area in Bacheli in Dantewada, as the security personnel were returning to their camp after purchasing groceries from the market.

An ambulance at the blast site. Credit: Special arrangement

The CISF unit was deployed in the area in view of the first phase of assembly elections in the state.

The Naxals have called for a boycott of the elections and threatened violent consequences if the call is ignored. Subsequently, a number of attacks have been reported, mostly from Dantewada. On October 30, a Doordarshan cameraperson and two police personnel were killed in a Naxal attack in the same district. On October 28, BJP leader Nandal Mudiyami was critically injured in Dantewada when suspected Naxals attacked him with sharp-edged weapons.

Four Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed on October 27, while two others were injured when their mine-protected-vehicle was blown up by Naxals in Bijapur district.

Elections have been scheduled over two phases in Chhattisgarh. On November 12, 18 constituencies in eight Naxal-affected districts – Bastar, Kanker, Sukma, Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur, Kondagaon and Rajnandgaon – will vote in the first phase. The second phase is scheduled for November 20.